Just three years ago Bowie dropped a surprise single -- "Where Are We Now?" -- that broke the Internet a year before Beyonce pulled the same stunt. Following a decade of relative silence after a 2004 heart surgery, Bowie answered his song's question with the acclaimed album, "The Next Day," which London's the Independent newspaper posited "may be the greatest comeback album in rock'n'roll history."

This also coincided with "David Bowie is," an acclaimed art exhibit that began in London before kicking off a world tour at Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario. The curator told me at the time, "The thing about Bowie is he manages to be a cult and massively popular at the same time, which is quite a difficult thing to pull off. So we think we're in a very select club, but actually we're in an enormous club."

And the size of that club is due in large part to Bowie's refusal to be frozen in amber. Over his 50-year career, Bowie had an unparalleled ability to remain relevant by giving each generation its own moment with him.

The 1970s kids got to enjoy his most prolific and influential period as it happened while the rest of us eventually discovered it as a pop cultural rite of passage, regardless of our entry point. He kicked off the decade a year early with his non-hippie hit "Space Oddity" before unleashing his Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke personae, collaborating with John Lennon, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, and moving to Berlin to record his groundbreaking trilogy, "Low," "Heroes" and "Lodger."

I'm an '80s baby, so my first childhood memories of Bowie are of him "Dancing in the Street" with Mick Jagger and as the Goblin King lording over Jim Henson creatures in "Labyrinth."

In the wake of "Under Pressure" and "Let's Dance," Bowie became a full-blown pop star, for better or worse. He dabbled in new wave, moved into music video and then pushed concerts into the avant-garde with his Glass Spider tour. It may not have compared artistically to his '70s output, at least toward the end, but it was no less current.

But for those of us in our teens and twenties during the '90s, Bowie became that rare legacy act who lived on the cutting edge rather than off radio royalties.

His Pixies-inspired experimental hard-rock Tin Machine project paved the way for grunge, though he himself moved on to electronic and industrial music. By the time he released "Outside" and the drum'n'bass-influenced "Earthling," his 19th and 20th albums, he had escaped the gravitational pull of nostalgia. Hell, he even brought Nine Inch Nails on tour.

Bowie's status as alternative culture godhead -- thanks to his own musical experimentation and his ability to push his underground music into the mainstream -- was further cemented when Nirvana covered "The Man Who Sold The World" on their "MTV Unplugged" album in 1994. Then a few years later, Bowie found himself being chased (and remixed by) NIN's Trent Reznor in his radio hit "I'm Afraid of Americans."

He entered the 2000s with the acclaimed post-9/11 album "Heathen," and then even though his own musical output slowed after his heart problems, he still managed to maintain cultural currency. His final performances mid-decade were with indie rock's biggest band, Arcade Fire, in 2005, and he contributed back-up vocals for TV on the Radio.

Though he largely laid low until his 2013 comeback -- which also included singing on Arcade Fire's "Reflektor" and being covered in space by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield -- Bowie's influence was still felt as his penchant for reinvention and pulling influence from avant-garde art was adopted by pop stars like Lady Gaga.

And now, in 2016, Bowie has left us with one of his most powerful works, a farewell in the form of a universally acclaimed album "Blackstar" released on his 69th birthday, two days before his death, and especially the music video for the single "Lazarus," with its now-heartrending lyric, "Look up here, I'm in heaven."

But in that opening stanza, Bowie also sings, "I've got drama, can't be stolen / Everybody knows me now," and that is just as true.

Everybody, no matter their age, knows David Bowie and his musical drama will always be ours, even if, sadly, the stars look very different today.

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David Bowie's Personas Through The Years (SLIDESHOW)

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The early days of David Bowie's career are often looked on as less avant-garde and outlandish - and, frankly, more 'normal' - than his creative output during his heyday, but it's worth remembering that in the late 1960s he had become a professional mime who also sang on stage.
During this period, it's been said his label were actually determined to get rid of him, due to the fact he didn't have his own backing band and was yet to have a hit record.
Imagine his surprise when a little song called 'Space Oddity' came along to change all that, putting him on the map in a massive way.

With the release of his third album, 'The Man Who Sold The World', Bowie took on a more rocky sound, with his long-time collaborator, guitarist Mick Ronson, taking a more prominent role in the music.
This was also reflected in his image, which saw him sporting a shaggy hairstyle and more elaborate style, which saw the first sparks of what a fashion icon and innovator he was to become.

Just two years later, he'd reinvented himself once again and created a brand new character for himself.
Backed by his band, The Spiders From Mars, he became known as Ziggy Stardust, a rock star whose story was told on the album, 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust (And The Spiders From Mars)'.
The album spawned some of David's signature songs, including 'Suffragette City', 'Starman' and the titular 'Ziggy Stardust', while the era is famous for ending when he "killed off" the character live on stage, breaking up the group before a performance of 'Rock 'N' Roll Suicide'.

Things took an even more elaborate turn with the release of David's next album, 'Aladdin Sane', the imagery for which saw him creating a new character.
The 'Aladdin Sane' album cover is certainly among the most iconic images from David Bowie's legendary career, while the thinking behind it, according to the man himself, was 'Ziggy Stardust goes to America'.

And then... something switched.
Gone were the androgynous looks, the outlandish hair and make-ups and elaborate costumes. In their place were casual suits, in keeping with what he described as the 'plastic soul' vibe of his 'Young Americans' album.

Proving he's not one who could be easily predicted, David Bowie then went completely back to the drawing board for the imagery that coincided with his 'Station To Station' album.
The Thin White Duke was another iconic character created by the music legend, this time famed for his slicked back blond hair, sharp suits inspired by the cabaret scene and thin appearance.
However, while fans relished seeing their idol once again reinventing himself, David later spoke about this period as a dark time for him personally, admitting he was at the height of his cocaine habit during this era, and describing the Duke as an 'ogre'.

A little older and possibly a little wiser, following the avant garde imagery that accompanied the 'Berlin trilogy' and 'Man Who Fell To Earth' it seemed the one thing David Bowie could do to really shock people was once again reinvent himself, this time as a commercial pop star.
With a bit of help by Nile Rodgers, the 'Let's Dance' era didn't sit well with some fans of the star at the time, who were perhaps hoping for something less 'commercial' from David Bowie, but it's gone on to be one of his staple sounds.

David Bowie was introduced to a whole new generation of youths when he appeared in 'Labyrinth' a new collaboration between George Lucas and Jim Henson - famed for 'Star Wars' and 'The Muppets' respectively.
As well as acting as Jareth, the Goblin King, he also performed several songs in the film, including the catchy 'Magic Dance' and the more theatrical, 'As The World Falls Down'.

During the 1990s, David Bowie was still enjoying success as a musician and pop icon, but with a loyal fan base behind from over the past decades, he was no longer under pressure to create hits or reach the top of the charts.
This allowed him to experiment with his sound, as well as his look, as imagery from this era proves.

An unquestionable music legend by the time the new millennium came, David Bowie made his dramatic return to the music scene with the release of his 24th (!!) album, 'The Next Day', his first in a decade.
Hitting the UK top 10 with its lead single, 'Where Are We Now?', the album itself reached the top of the album chart, proving there was still room for him in the British music scene.
He followed this with 'Blackstar', which was released just two days before his death from cancer, at the age of 69.